obvert
Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline
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quote:
Well, for a week I've been compiling notes and promising an indepth look at the development of Fortress Sumatra in this game. I thought it might help to have a detailed summary for newcomers to the AAR rather than having to sift through 66 pages. The topic seems even more appropriate now that it has also come up on the main page, so I have finished going through the AAR to make notes on the relevant developments.
Before posting the summary, though, here are some general comments about what's taken place in Fortress Sumatra in the game (the summary will take time and will follow in a separate post this afternoon):
1. I got the idea for Fortress Palembang from a comment Nemo made around the 12/10/41 turn.
2. Through mid January 1942, my idea was simply to use local troops (Dutch and Commonwealth) to create a road block at Palembang. IE, the "fortress" was nothing more than a speed bump at the time. It could have been easily attended to by Japan.
3. In mid January 1942, I picked up some SigInt and troop movement that convinced me that the enemy was in disarray, unsure of its objectives, and focusing on Luzon rather than the DEI. It was at that point that the Alies decided to ramp up the operation from a speed bump to a true fortress. Of course, the development of Fortress Sumatra would be implemented gradually over many months. For most of that period, I beleived that it was still within Japan's unilateral power to focus everything on Sumatra and win.
4. By mid July 1942, I transitioned from that opinion to an opinion that Japan no longer had the unilateral power to win a campaign for eastern Sumatra. The Allies, I believed, could successfully oppose any such operation. Such opposition was not guaranteed to succeed, but I felt that it was likely to.
5. By August 1942, with Japan having committed the KB and many battleships in the Pacific, I concluded that Japan could no longer win in Sumatra. So the purely defensive phase in the DEI ended and the Allies began looking at occupying additional bases.
quote:
Nemo and Alfred (and probably a few others) made it clear that Fortress Sumatra could be turned against the Allies. I can tell you that their analysis cost me a few grey hairs. I had some general notions how that might be accomplished, but there were lots of important little things that I was overlooking due to inexperience and ignorance. Having gone this far, I now know much better the potential weaknesses in - and exploits of - a Fortress Sumatra defense. I can only say I'm glad Steve didn't pursue this.
Some players might wonder whether I veered too strongly into following the suggestions and advice of others. I don't believe I have. I do welcome advice in my AAR - I love it, read it, and try to learn from it - but I also sift through it, accepting some and rejecting some.
For instance, early in this game I recall three items of commentary from Nemo: (1) Defend Palembang rather than Soerabaja; (2) Defend Palembang rather than Singapore; and (3) Don't send CV Lexington chasing after the enemy oilers. I acted on the first suggestion but not the second two.
You also did not jump when Nemo pushed for you to begin the offensive in April and stuck to your plan, which has so far proven successful and begun to slowly squeeze the Japanese both in space and resources. While that invasion might have been successful, it could also have led Japan to forget about all Pacific plans and focus on the DEI, which would have made the fight here more difficult perhaps.
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RE: Das darf nicht var sein! - 
...he has 46 kills in my game...a MASTER!... however don't bother with Tracom...you will get lots of new squadrons with lots of pilots with 60 exp...you really don't need tracom. Use it as an elite reserve where to park your aces when you wanna give them some rest
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